


to drink the sun

by sannlykke



Series: 戦国奇跡 [3]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, M/M, Running Away, Warring states period, minor appearances by the rest of the gom and then some
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-25 16:57:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4968934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sannlykke/pseuds/sannlykke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prince Daiki runs away from home, and accidentally becomes a kidnapper.</p>
            </blockquote>





	to drink the sun

**Author's Note:**

> wow i actually finished the third fic of this series after like...six months. aokise muse please be kinder to me.
> 
> you don't have had to read the other two to read this one but some of the minor details might make more sense if you do? yep. o/

Nobody needed to know where he was going.

Well, Sakurai definitely knew, but Sakurai was also definitely _not_ going to be telling anyone _anything_. Daiki had made sure of that when he coerced—okay, threatened—his trembling guard into absolute secrecy. It did occurred to him halfway through the journey that doing so had been an absolutely terrible idea, but by then he was already well on his way past Kofu.

As it were, he remembered little from his classes, but what he did retain was a fleeting bit of information about men staking out on personal journeys when they turned twenty, the age of adulthood. For Daiki, that was two years too long a wait. 

It wasn’t his problem anyway; nobody would miss him but Satsuki. and even then _that_ wasn’t his problem.

(Honestly, who _needs_ having a thousand eyes on your back all the time anyway…never mind the fact that it was infinitely more dangerous for him to be out here. Or as Daiki preferred to believe, there wasn’t a single swordsman in this fragmented network of a country who could beat himself but him.)

And it was true. Few commoners recognized him by looks alone, and fewer people knew the surname he used on the road. Members of the imperial household had no need for such things, and it had only been a game he and Satsuki played until now. And the life of a prince was a game he had no wish to play at the moment.

Daiki found himself in an inn two days’ journey from Edo, listening to the sound of snoring coming from the man taking up two whole mats on the other side of the room. He didn’t mind sharing a room—after all, he didn’t know how long the money he’d brought would last. Even lesser nobles did not usually spend their time languishing in these leaking wayside inns, and almost certainly took completely for granted the roofs over their heads. 

Which is not to say he completely understood how they felt, because he was sorely in need of a sleeping space that did not reek of charcoal and days-old rice wine. He would have to be even more careful when he neared other nobles’ holdings coming up the road, as it was much likelier that he would be recognized and—well, there were a _few_ possibilities, to say the least.

(Briefly he wondered what excuses the court would give for this prolonged absence—or if there would be any excuse at all.)

“Ah, fuck it…”

He must’ve overestimated his ability of being able to pass out anywhere. Daiki stretched, all too aware of just how _awake_ he was, and rolled off the mats. The air would be better outside.

And it was—enough to confirm to himself just how little he knew before coming out, and still how little he knew after a week and a half on the road. Cramped inn after cramped inn, horse running off not once but twice—Daiki knew he was lucky to have found the mare wandering around a riverbank, as he could not imagine trying to get anywhere without one.

Midnight grass proved dewy underfoot, though it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant feeling at this time of the year. He strode around the building, having left his zori at the front. It wasn’t a very big town, though at least when he’d arrived at dusk the remnants of a market were just being cleared away.

(He did not miss the order of the imperial city that just barely left a delicate cover on the chaos beneath, but some days he would wake missing the market, with all its smells and sounds, and miss the child who had so often weaved underneath those stalls another lifetime ago.)

It was then Daiki heard footsteps, heavy and rushed, heading in his direction. He quickly plastered himself against the wall, straining his ears. Bandits roamed the land far and wide in this time, and Daiki wasn’t about to go down so easily if anything happened. He raised a hand, and—

The figure barreled into him before he could do anything, knocking the both of them into the grass. Daiki could hear a soft gasp in apology as he struggled to sit up, the other man rolling off him as soon as they disentangled themselves from each other. The fluidity of the other’s movements suggested this was not a rare occurrence.

Time stilled for a few moments, and then Daiki sat up, slightly annoyed now that he might have just gotten himself into more trouble than it was worth. “Hey, you—“

“Shh!” 

More footsteps. Daiki barely had time to comprehend what was going on before the other man grabbed his arm, half-pulling and half-running back through the door from where he came. They pressed themselves against the wall, listening—Daiki could hear two, maybe three voices. 

“Where’s that idiot gone off to again?”

“Hey, he’ll be alright—for all we know he’s probably circled back to the inn. C’mon, captain, I’m so _tired_ …” 

“That brat…”

There could’ve been another person replying, Daiki thought, or perhaps it was just his imagination as he could understand nothing they said. The voices and shuffling feet faded away into nothing but the sound of their own breathing.

“So,” Daiki began, glancing at the person next to him. It was too dark to tell what they looked like, but a bit of moonlight that came in through a crack in the wall painted his hair a soft yellow. From what he could see Daiki was taller and bigger and could most definitely take him in a fight, if this happened to be some runaway criminal who had just accosted him. “Explain.”

“Hey, relax,” the person said, laughing quietly. “I’m not gonna murder you or anything.”

“Huh.”

“Eh?” He moved, and now the light was illuminating half of his face. Daiki rubbed his eyes—he wasn’t seeing things, and those eyes he was looking into _were_ gold. “You don’t know who I am?”

“And why the hell would I know _that_?” Really—even Daiki could tell he spoke differently, the accents of the eastern country quick and informal and all sorts of refreshing after the flowery, stilted speech of the court. But this man spoke in a way that set him apart from the servants he’d hung around with at home and the commoners he’d met so far, and for a moment Daiki’s eyes widened at the prospect of this being someone he’d met before. _Someone to escort him back_. His hand strayed to his side before remembering he’d hidden his weapon under his pillow. No matter, he could—

“Oh. You’re not from around here, are you?”

“No shit.” 

It was not the best choice of words, but Daiki was getting sufficiently sleep-deprived that what little filter he previously had was evaporating by the second. The other person’s eyes widened, perhaps taken-aback by his tone—he’d learned one too many swears from sneaking out onto the streets, or so Satsuki had reprimanded him. 

The man was giggling.

“Wh…why are you laughing?”

It did not help that even his stifled, soft laughter was somehow still pleasing to Daiki’s ear. He scratched at his hair, suddenly very conscious of being no more than an arms’ length away from this stranger. 

“A—ah, I’ve never actually heard anyone talk like that to me before, well, apart from the captain, but you know, he’s just—“ he stopped, taking a breath. “Oh, yes, as I was saying before. I’m Kise Ryouta.”

 _Kise_. He’d most definitely heard the name before. Daiki was, however, sure that he had never seen this particular Kise before; he would _definitely_ have remembered that. “I’m—uh. Aomine.”

(He hoped that by simply leaving one name this Kise Ryouta was not going to pester him about _where’s your family from?_ or _what does your family do?,_ because he really did not want to leave another unconscious, inquisitive passerby in his wake. Especially one that was as highly visible as this one.)

But all Kise did was smile and tilt his head in an incredibly endearing way that was messing with his groggy state even more. “And what are you doing all the way out here, Aomine-san? My family’s lands are quite a ways from Kyoto.”

 _Shit_.

 

  

 

In retrospect, staying out so late with a complete stranger was probably not the best idea a young, eligible lordling could come up with. He hadn’t even been drunk this time, and yet.

(Kasamatsu was likely going to _kill_ him, and Ryouta wasn’t sure how long he could evade his captain this time.)

Ryouta looked to his side; Aomine was still asleep, splayed out on the mats as if this were the safest place in the world. He hadn’t said much after some hastily thrown-together excuse of ‘family business’, and had insinuated that Ryouta should very much leave lest he be thrown in prison for some perceived infraction. 

Except it didn’t work that way here. Ryouta had promptly flopped down on the ground and started crying about getting beat up if Aomine made him leave the inn. Aomine had relented in the way of settling on his mattress and telling him to shut up, or _he’d_ beat Ryouta up instead. 

Definitely _not_ how a peasant should, or would talk to Kise Ryouta.

(With the dawn light gently creeping in through the windows, Ryouta could see that Aomine was hugging what looked suspiciously like a katana, and an expensive-looking one at that. _Well then._ Ryouta was starting to have an inkling that Aomine was not, in fact, a wandering merchant or farmer like he’d tried very hard to insinuate.)

But that was none of his business. He could, however, hear people starting to move about outside the room, and _that_ meant it was time for him to go.

“Hey sleepy-face,” he said, reaching out to shake Aomine. “You awake?”

“Go away, Satsuki…”

“Eh?”

Ryouta’s hand hovered above Aomine’s shoulder before shrinking back. _The name…his wife?_ Aomine certainly looked old enough to be of marrying age, though from the tone of it Satsuki could just as likely be a sister. And yet that name…

Aomine groaned and rolled over as Ryouta yanked the thin blanket off his back, exposing his belly in a decidedly feline fashion. Ryouta could hardly contain his laughter as he reached down, only to have a hand grab him before he could touch skin this time.

“Watch it,” Aomine growled, refusing to let go. “The hell was that for?”

“Just wanted to let you know it’s morning,” Ryouta said, feigning nonchalance as he tried very hard to pull his hand back. It was not working. “What, you like me so much you can’t let go?” 

“Shut up.” This time he let go rather quickly, muttering something about overly friendly strangers. The other occupant of the room had gone out rather early (the loudness of his stumbling around was what had woke Ryouta up in the first place.) “Don’t you have like…I don’t know, a castle to go back to? Servants to order around? That kind of thing.”

“Me? Nah, I’m on a hunting trip.” It was a lie, but not too far from the truth. Ryouta shrugged and smiled, tilting his head. “But I better go soon, since I lost them for some fun last night… And you?”

He had to admit, Aomine looked a little funny with his eyebrows scrunched together, but there was also something entirely adorable about the way he replied. “I dunno. Sleep a little longer?”

“Family business?” Ryouta prompted. Aomine’s eyes widened a little.

“Uh—yeah, that.” He seemed reluctant to leave his position, as awake as he seemed to be right now. Ryouta pretended to not see him shove the katana further into the pillow. “You—um, just go, if you need to. Back door because I don’t wanna be paying for you too.”

At that, Ryouta burst out laughing. “ _Really_. You aren’t a very good liar, are you, Aomine- _dono_?”

He sat up and glared, completely ignoring the first part of Ryouta’s comment. “Stop calling me that, I don’t even know your age.”

“Oh? How old _are_ you then?”

“None of your business.”

“So mean! Well, since you don’t like that, I’ll call you…” Ryouta tapped a finger to his lips as he stood up and moved out of Aomine’s reach, hovering near the door. “…Aominecchi!”

“……”

 

 

 

Daiki had no idea _how_ Kise had convinced him to join his hunting party. But between his drowsiness and Kise’s ridiculously nice-looking face in the light of day, something must’ve clicked in his brain that this would be a good idea.

(Not that he even _liked_ Kise, really, despite the pretty face that had shown itself in the light of the day. He’d barely known the guy for more than a couple hours. But he also hadn’t planned to be doing anything else, like he had done this entire trip, so. 

As long as Daiki was not going to be dragged to some lord’s fortress and potentially meet people he’d had the misfortune of meeting before, everything would be fine.)

The prince went through the back door with his katana to find his mare flicking her tail in the stalls. He pushed the door open and undid the ropes that bound her, patting her mane as she nudged at his head. “Hey, Mai-chan.”

He brought the saddle out, light brown and very plain against the horse’s dark, mottled coloring. Daiki could be just about anyone to the eyes of commoners while he was on the road alone, but.

Well, he _could_ just try and give Kise the slip—

“What’s taking you so long?”

“Agh! Don’t come up behind me like that.” So much for slipping off. Daiki grumbled as he shooed Kise to one side, leading the mare out into the open. The blond touched Mai-chan’s mane and made an ooh-ing noise, and Daiki rolled his eyes. “I hope you know where the rest of your friends are.”

Kise pulled a face. “Believe me, I _know_ this place.”

“Right.”

(All the while he wondered _why_ exactly Kise was willing to let a purported commoner join in on a nobleman’s fancy, but the alternative was thrown far to the back of his mind as soon as they were back on the road.

_Maybe that was just how things went here._

But he looked at the knife hidden in Kise’s belt, and at the road ahead, and he knew that couldn’t be right.)

  

Kise was right; his friends were in the inn on the other side of town, and their reactions to Daiki and Kise’s not-so-true account of last night’s events varied from incredulous to downright confused. 

“Idiot! What the hell were you thinking running off late last night?” Daiki watched with raised eyebrows at the bushy-eyebrowed man who was currently chasing after a distraught Kise. Judging by the looks of their other companions, this was routine. _What am I getting myself into here, really_. “I don’t care if you made a friend, you know you shouldn’t be wandering around—“ 

“Ah! I know Kasamatsucchi worries about me, but—“ 

“Of course I’m worried! Kise—“ He had finally caught Kise, and hauled him back to where the rest of the group stood. Kasamatsu— _Captain_ Kasamatsu, as he had curtly introduced himself to Aomine earlier—drew a long breath before letting go of him. “You _need_ to start thinking about more than just yourself, kid. What if you’d gotten yourself kidnapped, huh?”

“But I didn’t!” He gestured at Daiki, who was having definite second thoughts about having joined this weird group of people. “I know how to fight. And he hid me—“

“Oi, that makes me sound like a pervert,” Daiki growled, though they were paying too much attention to the running away part to listen. “What the hell, Kise, I said—“

“And you!” Kasamatsu rounded on him, jabbing at his chest with a finger. “I don’t know who you think you are, even if that airhead invited you, but you’re talking to Kise Ryouta _and_ the retainers of Odawara Castle. Have some respect.”

“I’m—“ 

_Bad idea._

“Tch.” Daiki waved a hand, turning to go. “I’ll just leave then, whatever—“

“Aominecchi! Come on, Kasamatsucchi might be mean—ow!—but none of them mind you here at all!” Somehow Kise was already standing behind him, staring up at him with big golden eyes. He even had the audacity to _wink_ —Daiki could feel a headache coming. Behind Kise, two others were whispering furiously; he didn’t remember their names, but the furtive glances they were throwing him was not helping with his headache. “Pl _ea_ se?”

“…Fine, but only if you make bushy eyebrows stay away from me.”

“Hmph.”

“Hey, now, let’s all calm down, alright?” One of the others—Mori…Mori- _something_ , Daiki couldn’t be bothered with so many names—slid up between him and a fuming Kasamatsu. “Why don’t we go find something to eat first, and maybe pick up some girls after that—“

Kasamatsu clutched at his face. “All of you, just… _shut up._ ”

 

 

 

“Did you hear what the townspeople were chattering about back there?”

“Hm?”

Ryouta stretched his limbs, content to be back on his own horse now. Kasamatsu was riding up front; the rest of the retinue were behind, close but too far away to hear if they spoke quietly. Beside him, Aomine was busy pretending he hadn’t heard a word. “The rumors about the prince.”

“Dunno, that Hayakawa guy was too loud for me to hear anything.”

“Oh. Well, I guess it doesn’t really concern either of us.” He leaned forward in his saddle, looking left and right for signs of wildlife. They hadn’t gotten very far into the forest yet, but it was good to be on a lookout all the time. “Apparently he’s disappeared. Don’t know for how long, you know how word takes time to get around.”

Aomine shrugged. “So?”

“I heard the imperial court is in chaos right now, looking for him…well, nobody knows what happened, exactly.” Kasamatsu half-turned towards him and gave a signal, then disappeared with his horse into the right. Ryouta reached behind his back, drawing an arrow from his quiver. “Maybe he’s run off or gotten murdered…I mean, don’t you think it’s really scary?”

“Not particularly.” Out of the corner of his eye, Ryouta watched Aomine’s fingers twitch on the smooth wood of the bow he’d convinced Moriyama to let him borrow. The three behind them were already gone. “Too far away a place for me to care about. Doesn’t concern a peasant like me now, does it.”

Ryouta pulled on his bowstring, testing it. “Hm, I guess you’re right. But still—”

“Yo, duck!”

Aomine’s bow was drawn and ready so fast that Ryouta barely had time to register what was going on before it came. His instincts, however, were far from rusty as he ducked. The arrow shot through the woods, perhaps two paces to the left of Ryouta’s horse, and there was a yelp. 

“Oops.” He could definitely see the smirk on Aomine’s face as the other rode ahead. “Think I got something. You coming?”

“……”

 

The something in question was a nice-sized sika deer, and nearly part of Kasamatsu’s eyebrows had he not leaned down during the last second.

“I _did_ call out for you to duck,” Aomine said, shrugging as he dodged one of Kasamatsu’s kicks. Ryouta’s captain was fuming about proper archery etiquette again, and while Ryouta wasn’t in the mood to listen to another lecture he was glad nobody had actually been shot. But then. “Kise—“

“Don’t you pull me into this, Aominecchi,” he interjected, hands on hips. “You really could’ve hurt someone like that.”

Aomine made to argue further, but Ryouta fixed him with his best imitation of Kasamatsu’s glare. It probably wasn’t very good, on hindsight, though it got what he wanted. “…Sorry." 

“That was a pretty nice shot, though,” Moriyama said from several trees away, inspecting the deer as Hayakawa and Kobori flipped it over so they could transport it more easily. Even from where Ryouta was he could tell the arrow had buried itself deep into the heart, from an angle that initially seemed impossible. “You hunt often?”

Ryouta watched Aomine’s face carefully, and the other looked away, biting his lip. “No. It’s not like I’m allowed to, usually. Deer don’t belong to peasants.”

“Well, today’s your lucky day then,” Ryouta replied, carefully, and watched the other shrug and ride away towards the others who were hauling the deer. The blond turned towards Kasamatsu, apologetic. “Sorry about that, I didn’t even react…”

Kasamatsu looked at him strangely, then exhaled. They started heading towards the direction the others had gone in. “I’d almost rather you bring home a pretty girl, next time.” 

Ryouta laughed quietly. “I don’t think you would, actually. Moriyama, on the other hand…” 

“Idiot.” He felt a slap on his shoulder, though it lacked bite. “So, you don’t really think that Aomine guy is just a random peasant, don’t you, Kise? As much as I hate to say it, that _was_ a really good shot…”

“Who knows?” He flashed Kasamatsu a smile, hoping that was enough to throw the other off track. _This_ was something Ryouta wanted to find out on his own, without interference. “It’s not like we’re going to see him again after this.”

 

 

 

Daiki had supposed he was lucky, getting away without any further questioning. But the moment he heard a rustle behind him, he knew that was not the end of things. He sighed. “Kise, I know you’re there.”

It was as if the universe were somehow conspiring against him, that no matter where he ran to there would always be someone annoying coming after him. In court that had been Satsuki. Here, it was… “A-ah, I can’t believe you noticed, I was being extra quiet too…” 

“Spit it out already,” Daiki grumbled, playing with the fraying ropes on his saddle. He kept a careful watch on Kise coming up behind him, and his weapon. As innocently as Kise was sidling up to him, Daiki was more apt to believe that there would be nothing good coming out of this situation. “I haven’t got all day, unlike you.”

“What makes you think I have all day to waste?” Kise held out a hand, and Daiki’s eyes widened. “I thought you might’ve dropped this, so I—”

Daiki snatched the trinket away, fingers closed so tightly around the stone that it hurt. Kise was looking at him, he was sure, but…

“Aominecchi?”

He frown deepened. “You know that’s not…” 

Kise shrugged, looking away a little uncomfortably. “Well, you’re still Aominecchi to me unless you tell me otherwise, so. I’m not gonna tell the others.”

“Why?”

“Consider it a favor repaid.”

“Well…” He considered this, and noticed that Kise’s horse was nowhere in sight. So he’d walked back here—Daiki hadn’t gone very far yet, that was for sure, and the rest of the entourage were probably waiting on Kise. “You say you know this place well?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah—” Kise looked about dismissively, then back at Daiki—his blade, to be exact. He was grinning. “Hey, they probably think I’ll take a long time anyway. Why don’t we spar a little? You look like you know how to use that.”

“Tell you what,” Daiki replied with a slow-forming smile of his own, a vague idea of a plan starting to sprout in his head. “Let’s up the stakes a little, alright?”

 

Several rounds later, Kise was lying on the ground, a hand over his face.

“Not bad,” Daiki said, a hand grasping a nearby branch for support. He was panting, which didn’t happen very often, which meant Kise was undoubtedly _good_. Not as good as Daiki, but then again few people were. “I’m still better, though.”

“I know that,” Kise muttered, rolling to his side before sitting up. “But Aominecchi, that _was_ amazing.”

“I know, right?”

Kise let out a sound that sounded something between a groan and a snort. “Come on, help me up if you’re so great.”

His fingers weren’t as smooth and soft as Daiki had thought; grasping Kise’s hand, the prince could feel callouses like his own, built up over the years. Perhaps he hadn’t trained for as long, but Daiki could instantly tell there was _something_ about those hands that excited him, like their duels had. And the way his eyes had shone— “So, about the bet.”

“You aren’t really serious.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to disobey me, you know,” Daiki smirked, pulling the blond up. Kise pouted at him, but did not move away. He looked kind of hot sweating like that—Daiki shook his head, pushing the thought out of his mind. It must be the lack of sleep. “Though Mai-chan doesn’t like having to carry two people—“

It was Kise’s turn to smile. “Oh, so you didn’t see her. What, did you think I walked all the way back just to return that to you?”

“Watch it,” Daiki murmured in warning, but he couldn’t bring himself to continue as Kise whistled and his ride came trotting out of the forest, the same tan-colored beauty that he’d been riding earlier. “Alright then, let’s—”

“—get going before Kasamatsu realizes I’ve really done it this time?" 

“Something like that.” Daiki stretched, picking up his sheathed katana that had been propped against the tree. This time he made sure to tie the string with the pink-and-gold quartz tight around his belt before finally climbing up into his saddle. “It’s not like I’m borrowing you for long.”

“You’re a horrible influence, Aominecchi.”

 

 

 

There was a sense of deja vu that Ryouta could not quite place as he rode along the quiet road with Daiki, the sun setting behind him painting the sky with reds and purples. He’d done this before many times, as Kasamatsu and the rest of his retinue could attest to, and now he’d done it again— _when will you start thinking about people other than yourself?_

Contrary to what he had expected, Aomine was quiet on the road, speaking only if he needed to and nothing more. They traveled a minor path that Ryouta had grown up frequenting alone. passing through field and forest, and tiny hamlets that Ryouta had seen but never gone into. There would be a bigger village up ahead where Ryouta knew one of the families would give him a place to stay for the night. That was something Kasamatsu had never found out about. But now… “Aominecchi, is there somewhere you need to get to?”

“What’s beyond?”

“Beyond?” He could already see tips of the village’s houses, up ahead. “Well—Midorimacchi’s family lives near Edo, and that’s about a day’s ride from here…”

The other man groaned. “Please don’t tell me that’s who I think it is." 

“Ah, so you’ve seen Midorimacchi before?”

“Prim, proper and completely horrified when I dunked an inkbrush into his cup of tea?”

Ryouta couldn’t help bursting out in laughter at that. “You’re so _awful_ —“

“Please,” Aomine snorted, “He deserved it. I hadn’t wanted to meet him, anyway.”

“I’m surprised I hadn’t ever met you before yesterday, now that I think about it.”

Those weren’t exactly the words he was going for, but Ryouta figured it was a good a time as any to get that out, now that they were riding level with each other. A shadow passed over Aomine’s face, gone so quick that Ryouta wondered if he had imagined it. He turned away, a little embarrassed and wondering _why_ the hell he was embarrassed in the first place.

“That was a long time ago.”

Aomine was looking at the reins in his hand—no, Ryouta realized, at the crystal hanging off his belt. The one with his name and titles carved into it, to remind him of who he was. 

Ryouta had a vague recollection of a portrait sent to Odawara when he was twelve and his sisters sixteen and twenty. A lovely young girl swathed in robes with the imperial crest. _Crown Princess Satsuki_ , he remembered someone saying, and his sisters had turned the conversation to politics and marriage and other things he at that point did not care about. He remembered furtive whispers about the princess’s brother, and had wondered if he were fussy like Midorimacchi or well-groomed like Akashicchi. But all they talked about was the prince’s mother, a commoner who according to rumor had been no older than Ryouta’s oldest sister Haruko when the emperor became smitten with her. Half-truths and murmurs were things that Ryouta had grown up with, but at that time it seemed unimaginable and far away. 

There hadn’t been a portrait of the prince.

  

“Kise.”

“Hm?”

“How many times have you run away before?”

“Ah…” He paused. “I didn’t think you would ask me something like that.”

There was no response. Then, “Just answer the question.”

It wasn’t exactly great, both of them squished onto a small mattress that usually only Ryouta slept on. Aomine generated a lot of heat, but thankfully fall was upon them already. In this state, it was impossible to be in any vaguely comfortable position without having his limbs touching the other. Well. At least Aomine wasn’t bad to look at, lithe limbs and feline smile, and he felt a little heat come to his face. “More times than you have, probably.” 

“Oh?”

Ryouta bit his lip, watching a gecko crawl across the wooden ceiling. “It’s not that easy running away anymore.”

“Mm.” 

Aomine’s back was to him, the back of his neck exposed. The full moon tonight lent light through small fissures on the wall, and Ryouta could see thin scars. faded white over the years, crisscrossing below his neck. He closed his eyes and listened to the evenness of Aomine’s breathing, the crackling of hay underneath them.

In, out. 

“Did you mean to meet anyone along the way?”

Ryouta felt Aomine pull, lightly, on the thin blanket shared between them. 

“No.”

There was no elaboration. Ryouta wasn’t going to lie to himself; he wouldn’t have had understood, anyway. He brought his arm back against his chest, thinking about his sisters, thinking about his parents, thinking about the scrolls that had begun arriving in increasing numbers as soon as he’d turned sixteen that he’d burned, secretly, guiltily…

He felt Aomine’s leg bump against his, as the other man shifting position to be on his back. Ryouta yawned, not bothering to move away as an arm settled across his chest. Some sort of reassurance, in a way. For the moment.

(They fell asleep like that; at least, Ryouta did, wondering drowsily if the sniffling he heard came from himself, or from Aomine, or if it was simply a product of his dreams and nothing more—)

 

 

 

Kise’s lashes, Daiki decided, were really, _really_ long in the way that eyelashes weren’t supposed to be, but it wasn’t like he was complaining or anything. 

He’d woken up just a bit before dawn, listening to the autumn insects chirp away outside, the occasional fluttering of a bird’s wings. A rooster crowed once, then fell silent. The temperature had dropped during the night, but the fact that Kise had conveniently burrowed into his arms while they were both asleep left him no colder than he was used to.

 _If I move_ , Daiki thought, _he’d wake up and start complaining._

But why would he, if he hadn’t wanted to in the first place? This was, it occurred to him, the first time he had slept with someone in the same bed since Satsuki, and _that_ had been ages ago when it was still appropriate for them to sneak into each others’ rooms during thunderstorms. Hesitantly he reached out and placed an arm around Kise’s shoulder. 

Just then Kise made a little noise, and his head lolled towards Daiki’s neck. What Daiki got was a faceful of golden hair, even softer than it had looked. It made him want to sneeze.

Which was what he did, three seconds later.

“Eeh?”

“Shit, sorry…”

Kise blinked at him blearily, uncomprehending, but that was all thrown to the back of Daiki’s mind when a sudden rapping at the door outside completely woke him. “Hello? Anyone inside?” 

“Oh no,” Kise whispered, in a tiny voice. Daiki frowned; it wasn’t Kasamatsu nor anyone else from Kise’s household, yet the voice had a familiar quality to it. He sat up, a hand grasping his katana. “That’s—”

“Maybe it’s not for us,” Daiki said, but the sound of the outside door opening quieted both of them. Muffled, sleepy voices carried on a conversation that neither could hear. Then Daiki heard, audibly, “Ah, Captain, let’s go already…why would Mine-chin be here? We’ve been going door-to-door in the middle of nowhere.”

 _Fuck_. The word must’ve been plainly written on his face, for Kise was staring at him, wide-eyed. He mouthed something Daiki couldn’t and didn’t want to hear. They lay on the cot, tangled together, breath-held—

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but this is urgent…are you sure you haven’t seen this person around?”

“Who sleeps in there?” Another voice joined in, softer, and Daiki instinctively knew whoever was outside was staring at _their_ door. “Your children are all out here, ma’am, but—“

“So annoying…”

The door opened.

Kise’s eyes were scrunched shut, yet Daiki couldn’t bring himself to do as both of them lay there, frozen in place, the blanket covering their faces in one last attempt to stay anonymous. There was a moment of silence.

“Mine-chin…I can see your feet.”

 

 

 

“I hate all of you,” Aomine had declared two hours ago, and had not spoken a word since. Ryouta stole glances at him from time to time, though it was a little difficult with a dozen soldiers surrounding them. 

When he’d asked what they were going to do to him, the tall one had just shrugged. “We’re just here to fetch Mine-chin, really. You can come along, since this is on your family’s land…”

What Ryouta had really wanted to ask was why they had come _all the way_ from Dewa to round up the prince. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to send someone from Edo too?”

The man—Murasakibara, his name was, who Ryouta wasn’t quite familiar with but had an inkling they’d met before—shrugged. “We didn’t come all the way. The emperor made Aka-chin in charge of this expedition. He’s not on the best of terms with those people right now.”

Ah. Maybe he _had_ missed something in the two days he had been gone—Kasamatsu hadn’t mentioned this, and neither had anyone else. Still, as Ryouta rode with the escort party, he felt more caged than not. _I’m not a prisoner_ , he thought. _Neither is Aominecchi, really…but..._  

The prince’s face had been stormy ever since the morning, after shouting alternately at Murasakibara (who had shrugged it off; Ryouta suspected this was routine) and at the Captain, who shouted back and made threats of violence that Ryouta wasn’t completely sure was appropriate given their situation. He had ended up standing back against the wall, wondering what the hell was up with all of this when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

“You’re Kise, right?”

“Yeah?” 

This was the only person he was sure he hadn’t met before, Ryouta knew, simply because there was no way he would forget such a face. “Why are you here with him?” 

“Mm…it’s a long story.” Ryouta pursed his lips. “It’s not like he kidnapped me or anything, just for the record. Why are _you_ here?”

“Sh—Captain Nijimura asked me and Atsushi to come along. That’s all.”

“I see.” The shouting on the other side of the house had died down, just enough for Ryouta to hear the sound of crunching leaves coming their way. He stretched, and the words fell into place inside his head. “I suppose that’s why I’m here, too. Aominecchi asked me.”

 

Aomine had not asked anything further from anyone as he rode silently in another group next to the one surrounding Ryouta. 

“We’re getting near Odawara,” one of the soldiers up front said suddenly. “Should we announce our entrance?”

“Do it,” said Nijimura, and two riders broke away from formation, heading for the fortress in the near distance. He turned towards Ryouta. “We’re dropping you off here, kid.” 

“Alright,” Ryouta said, because he didn’t know what else to say. Aomine wasn’t looking at him, and neither were the others. Once he was home, he was definitely going to get it from everyone—his family, Kasamatsu—and suddenly he wondered what kind of punishment Aomine was going to receive.

He felt strangely ill at ease just thinking about it.

“Hey,” he said. “Can I…ask something real quick?”

 

 

 

Kasamatsu was waiting for them at the gates, his voice more of a resigned sigh than Ryouta had anticipated. “Kise Ryouta.” 

“…Captain.” 

He felt the captain eye him up and down, and as expected, the clap on his shoulder that turned into a grip. “You’ve really got some nerve, running away with the _prince_ —“

“I know that.” 

“Hmph. Well, at least it wasn’t the princess, otherwise you’d have even more explaining to do. And don’t—” He pushed Ryouta inside, motioning to the guards to close the gates, and his voice dropped to a murmur. “—even tell me if something _did_ happen.” 

“Nothing happened, Kasamatsucchi,” Ryouta said, a small grin breaking out on his face despite himself. “I hope…dad didn’t give you a hard time. I’m sorry. Really.”

“Least you know how to say that now.” 

“Yeah, well.” Ryouta looked at the hallway stretching before him, and at the potential lectures waiting inside the room at the very end. He straightened up, shaking his head, and felt surprisingly light. “I do.”

 

 

 

_“What’s this for?” Daiki had asked suspiciously when Murasakibara told him. “You don’t think I’ll try running away again?”_

_The giant had given him a bored once-over. “Mine-chin really likes to get into trouble, doesn’t he? You can’t go far in ten minutes with all of us around.”_

_He’d interpreted that as_ I’ll crush you _followed by_ Nijimura would kick your ass _and well, that was that. As instructed, he followed the cobbled path leading behind the gatehouse where Kise was._  

_“Kise…?”_

_“Aominecchi.”_

_If he’d thought Kise’s eyes were pretty closed, they were liquid gold when opened and up close in daytime. Like suns, Daiki supposes, remembering the story of Kougei, and wondered in that moment who would be the one to shoot them down._

_He didn’t know why he’d thought of that, really, until Kise opened his mouth and he realized the answer._

_“Aominecchi, I want to—“_

_Daiki reached forward for his collar, but Kise was already moving towards him, and they meet somewhat haphazardly in the middle._

_It was far from a perfect kiss, though Daiki’s experience stopped at ‘that one time with a girl in town’ and he briefly wondered if Kise had kissed many others before. But that thought was pushed far away as his reached into the other’s hair, rays of sunshine spilling around his fingers. Kise’s fingers dug into his sleeves, then into his skin, and he felt the yearning in his heart again, for something outside the confines of the palace walls—_

 

Did you mean to meet anyone along the way?

 

 _The thought lingered even after they broke apart, panting unevenly, and Daiki kept his fingers in Kise’s hair. “Was that…what you wanted to tell me?"_  

_“Not exactly,” Kise replied, and dodged a playful punch. “I mean, partially. I didn’t think you wanted to, but—“_

_He reached into his kimono, bringing out two glittering objects that took Daiki a moment to register. One was a comb of golden lacquer, a glittering pink stone inlaid in the middle. The other, the one that Daiki picked up first, was a knife. It was the one he’d seen, days ago, and when he turned it over he saw characters carved into the handle that hadn’t been there before._

_“…What’s this for?”_

_Ryouta looked away, pouting. “I don’t want you forgetting me.”_

_“And that…?”_

_“I just…you have a sister, don’t you? My sisters commissioned that as a joke for me when I was a kid, but…I’ve kept it with me since. I can’t throw something like that away, can I?”_

_“And you can give it to me?” Daiki teased, softly, taking it from Ryouta’s hands. “It probably looks better on me than on Satsuki, actually.”_

_“You want to test that out right now?”_

_“…Actually, never mind.”_

_His hands closed around the handle, feeling the jagged lines of Kise’s name carved into the dark wood. “…I don’t have anything to give you.”_

_“I think that was enough,” Kise said, quietly, and reached up to touch Daiki’s hand. “Wait for me.”_

_“Hm?”_

_"I'll definitely beat you next time."_

_“Hey, you guys done yet? We’re about to leave.” Daiki jumped at the sound of Nijimura’s voice coming from around the corner, and Kise pulled away. The gem on the comb dug into his skin as he palmed it, waiting for the others to arrive. “Aomine?”_  

_“Yeah.” He took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”_

 

 

 

**Early Spring, 1591**

 

 

 

Winter had been unusually harsh, and Ryouta had spent most of that holed up inside the castle. It wasn’t as if he could go anywhere, having been grounded for its entire duration. Today marked the first day that the snow had melted completely—he looked outside his window, and there was a knock on his door. 

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.” The door opened a crack, revealing Haruko’s concerned face. “Ryou-chan, are you dressed?”

“Oh! Yeah, I am—what’s going on outside?” Through the open door he could hear a clattering, weapons perhaps, or servants moving about household items. “Isn’t it too early for the spring cleaning?“

“Ryou-chan…” Her voice dropped as she crept inside the room, closing the door softly. Her long golden hair was tied into a messy knot, and Ryouta suspected she’s not been up for more than an hour. He moved aside on his bed. “Father’s been summoned by the court, for usual procedures, you know. But…”

Their father had been ill for the better part of the season, and though it looked as if he were getting better Ryouta knew there would be no risking it on such a journey. Kyoto was at least two weeks of travel away if they were to take a large party with them as precaution. Haruko continued, looking into his eyes searchingly. “I’ve asked for you to go in his stead. I hope that wasn’t presumptuous—“

“No,” Ryouta said. “I mean, I hoped you’d have asked me first, but I’ll—I’ll be glad to go. Are you coming as well?”

Haruko smiled, touching his shoulder lightly. “I have to stay and keep things in order—well, it’ll be easier with you out of the way.”

Ryouta pouted, but couldn’t keep it up for long at the twinkle in Haruko’s eyes. He’d been indulged for far too long now. “I won’t get into any trouble this time.” 

“No more running away?”

“No more running away.” He put a hand on his sister’s, reassuring. “I promise.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Ryouta of the Kise family, you may enter.” 

The ceremonial robes are heavy on him, but he refuses to let them drag him down. Ryouta walks towards the door, head bowed in deference. Here, people are watching.

(And Ryouta is watching, too—he notes Midorima’s somewhat anxious face among the crowd. Murasakibara is there, though he had already gone in and come out. And there is a whisper, just a whisper, in the room that sets him on alert, and he knows he will see Akashi soon after this, and his dangerous smile.

But that is not all he is here to see.)

The door creaks open then closes, and he spots first the woman sitting on the seat before him, thinly veiled but familiar. Ryouta kneels on the tatami mats, wondering when the Emperor would come.

“Hidenka-sama,” he says, steadily. “I present myself to you.”

“You may sit up,” she replies, and Ryouta can hear a smile in her soft voice. It’s very different from Aomine’s, he thinks as he looks up. Two guards stand to either side of the room, a seemingly paltry number though from a glance Ryouta can tell they were excellently trained. A flash of gold catches his eye; even through the veil, the princess' comb shines atop her elaborate hairstyle. “The emperor is occupied at the moment, so I shall be holding this ceremony. I apologize for my brother’s absence. He—”

“Who are you calling absent?”

None of the guards move, but the door behind one of them creaks open, changing the atmosphere considerably. Aomine’s form is graceful as he shuts the door behind him, moving about in his court regalia as easily as he had in thin cotton rags. Ryouta watches him settle next to the princess, and then let out a small but noticeable yelp. “Satsuki—”

“Please excuse him.”

“No,” he says, shaking his head slowly. “I am honored.”

Aomine’s eyes are on him, and he sees instead of a ceremonial sword a very familiar-looking knife in his belt. A smile lingers on his face, proud and warm, and Ryouta thinks he might not mind drowning in it. For the moment.

“So am I.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> kougei - the japanese name for [houyi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houyi), whose legend i've...already used in another aokise fic...
> 
> [names of address](http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/miscellany/address.html) during the sengoku period - i wish i'd found this earlier for my other fics bc it's incredibly useful. i'll probably edit with an appropriate ranks table of everyone when i feel up to it?? 
> 
> & just to be clear, the japanese imperial family don't actually use a family name, which is why in this case 'daiki' and 'satsuki' are their given names and their 'surnames' are actually made-up (it becomes kind of a running joke among their circle by the time The Moon Remembers happens which is why you still see kise using aominecchi and momocchi, etc.)
> 
> -  
>  ~~what do you mean i tried to shoehorn another ship in here you didn't see anything~~
> 
> hopefully i won't take another 6 months for the akamomo installment to happen haha ;;;;
> 
> as always, comments etc. are welcome and appreciated! o/


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